Sylhet Region Flood: Swelling rivers swamp villages

A large part of Sylhet region has been flooded as rivers have swollen over the safe level.

Hundreds of villages were inundated in Kanaighat, Zakiganj, Gowainghat and Jaintiapur upazilas of Sylhet yesterday.

As the water level rose in parts of Moulvibazar, Pradip Maliha, 30, a tea estate worker went missing on Wednesday night in Kulaura upazila. Villagers said he was probably swept away when the Manu river burst its banks and water rushed into neighbourhoods.

Officials said about 2,800 families have been marooned in their homes as the water levels rose in Moulvibazar, inundating roads and snapping communications in many areas.

In Kamalganj upazila of the district, over 700 hectares of farmland were flooded and the crops damaged, said Upazila Nirbahi Officer Mahmudul Huq.

About 5,500 families were affected by the flash flooding on Wednesday and the situation continued to worsen yesterday, he added.

The upazila administration received 45 tonnes of rice and Tk 50,000 to help the victims.

In Sylhet, continued rainfalls have exacerbated flash flooding, Debojit Singha, additional deputy commissioner, said.

Yesterday's bulletin of Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre of Bangladesh Water Development Board states that the Surma, Kushiyara and Sarigowain rivers in Sylhet, Manu river in Moulvibazar and Khowai river in Habiganj are overflowing.

The Surma river at Kanaighat was swollen 206cm above the safe level yesterday morning. It swelled 23cm over the safe level near Sylhet city.

In Moulvibazar, the Kushiyara river was flowing 161cm above the safe level at Amalshid and the Manu river of was flowing 125cm above safe level at Manu Railway Bridge. 

In Habiganj, the Khowai River was flowing 92cm above safe level at Ballah. Flood water continued to rise in the town throughout yesterday.

Most of the flood-affected people in in three upazilas of Moulvibazar district have been passing their days in misery due to acute crisis of food and drinking water. Now 2,800 new families are marooned. According to the WDB officials, the flood will worsen if the rain continues.

Upazila administrations in Kulaura and Kamalganj distributed rice and cash to affected families. But those who received the relief said the amounts were too small.

Residents also said the relief efforts should reach affected areas faster.

"Four bighas of land, on which I cultivated vegetable, have gone under water. If the flood water doesn't recede immediately, everything will be lost,” Afsar Ali, a farmer in Baliara village of Kulaura, told our Moulvibazar correspondent.

Sahjahan Chowdhury, deputy director of agricultural extension department in Moulvibazar, said paddy fields in the districts were likely to have been damaged by the flood. Farmers are also facing acute crisis of fodder.